What Your Clumsiness Is Trying To Tell You.

We’ve all had those days. The days where we trip up the stairs or walk into poles. Days where we stub our toes or bite our cheek while eating. Times when we burn our forearm or cut our finger while cooking. The days where we rush through life we can;t even take a breath long enough to slow down.

The worst days are when more than one of these things happen in the same day.

Most of us go about thinking nothing of these moments. Nothing of the hurts and boo boos as my daughter would call them.

I like to believe that every moment we experience is an opportunity to learn. I urge you to see the message in these moments. Your life is speaking to you. Even the smallest things that happen are trying to teach us something.

In the case of clumsiness it’s trying to tell you: SLOW DOWN!

Usually when we are rushing, distracted, multi-tasking, frustrated, angry or stressed we cannot give our full attention to every day activities.

As a result we get hurt. Usually in small ways. But even these small ways can add up over time or when ignored turn into bigger injuries that force a slow down.

Here’s an example:

A few months ago I was in the thick of studying, working full-time, training, meal prepping and that was just me. It felt like everyone around me needed something and was asking me to provide it. I felt like a crazy person running around all hours serving those around me on top of trying to wrap up my own to-do list.

First I cut my finger making a salad because I was distracted by trying to answer emails and cook at the same time.

Then I tripped over a bar at the gym bruising my knee rushing to get to my next exercise.

Lastly I was in such a panic when my daughter fell over our open dishwasher door that I threw myself around a corner, slipped and went through our kitchen island. I damaged the drywall (which later needed to be replaced) and sliced my knee open.

Luckily my daughter was fine. Just a scrape on her elbow. Me on the other hand couldn’t walk and nearly passed out from the pain. It took an entire week at home, off work and resting to begin to heal.

Just consider for a second, because I know you’ll start to resist the idea: I was running on empty for too long. I was not paying attention to the signs my body and mind were sending me. So it created an environment where I was forced to slow down.

So here’s my PSA for the day. Take a minute to consider this for yourself.

Are you moving too quickly through life?

Have you been getting clumsy or flat out injured and have been thinking nothing of it?

Do you feel distracted, stressed, angry?

Are you always trying to multi-task and rush through the never ending to-do list?

Here are my slow down tips:

1) Make a must-do list instead of a to-do list.
What are the 3-5 things you must to do the next day to be successful? Let’s stop the martyrdom of busyness. Stop wearing the busy crown and celebrating that like it’s a win in life when it’s really life’s trick to have us miss the really good stuff.

2) Only cook. Only eat.
When you are cooking and eating only do those things. Do not have your phone near by taking calls and sending emails. Be present. Need help? Check this out.

3) Schedule fun.
Sounds silly. But it works! As we get older and take on more responsibility life gets serious way too quickly. We forget about fun and everything becomes work and what others need. Book the date nights, book the vacation, book the afternoon picnic. Book it and it will happen. Don’t and it won’t.

So good news: My knee healed really well and I have a bad ass scar to remind me always – to slow down.